2025 | We Are Eureka Springs!

I didn’t move to Eureka Springs, Arkansas in June of 2018 because I was fleeing a scandal (though that would’ve added spice to the story), or because I heard there was an underground art scene run by psychic white squirrels (though I’m not ruling that out). No, I came here because something tugged at me-like a thread from an old quilt I didn’t know I was part of-and suddenly, I found myself woven into something quietly magnificent.

The population here in Eureka Springs is somewhere between “small enough to know your barista's dog’s birthday” and “large enough to throw a spontaneous parade for it.” Ha! Ain't that the truth!

But it's the people that make the town what it is. They are not just residents. They’re Eurekans. And Eurekans, as I’ve come to learn, are their own beautiful category of human.

And believe me, I’ve lived in places where no one knows your name, let alone wants to learn it. I’ve spent entire winters in cities where eye contact is a felony. But here? Here, people wave at you even if you accidentally cut them slightly off Center. Center Street, that is.

They may honk, but it’s a polite "bless your heart" Southern kind of honk.

Fellow Eurekan, Beth Giltner said that to me once, without pretense, like she was ordering a scone. And it stuck with me. Because she’s absolutely right.

Here, people show up. They show up to plant flowers, paint murals, march in parades, clean up trails, and dance up the street in a second-line style New Orleans jazz funerals for deceased coffee shop owner beloved by everyone. (yes, that happened.) Eurekans show up with casseroles and compassion. They show up with glitter and glue guns. And when they do, they don’t just attend — they participate.

Eurekans don’t watch the parade. They costume up and get in the float.

They don’t just go to the Farmers Market. They start one. They don’t just attend Mardi Gras. They're baking king cake and passing out beads to strangers who are now new friends.

And I have to tell you: it’s contagious. Like glitter. Once it’s in your life, it’s everywhere. You start participating, too. You find yourself decorating your house for the holiday season so that the visitors can bask in the "all over town" light show.

Ok, well, some do, but we talk about them later at the church social after services have ended. Ha!

Sure, we all have our quirks. Mine is that I alphabetize my spice rack and talk to my houseplants like they’re unionizing against me because I always forget to water them. But here in Eureka Springs, no one cares. You can be flamboyant, monastic, tattooed, buttoned-up, introverted, extroverted, or somewhere in between — and no one bats an eye.

Eureka Springs is radically inclusive.

You’ll get hugged whether you’re a biker, a bishop, a bassoonist, or a bearded drag queen.

On Quilts and Culture: Stitching Community Together

Please allow me to switch into career mode for a moment.

In my professional life (on cruise ships, in hotels, retail and even in poultry manufacturing, etc.) I'd often train people on “workplace culture.” It was all very professional and laminated.

But the metaphor that always worked was the quilt. A culture, I’d say, is a quilt: made of everyone’s small, daily interactions. Every kind word? A stitch. Every helpful act? A patch. Every moment of inclusion? Reinforcement. A place becomes warmer, stronger, more beautiful the more it’s stitched together.

Eureka Springs gets this. Locals thread the quilt every day, consciously, consistently, intentionally. It’s why it feels so HUMAN here. You’re not just part of a town. You’re part of a handmade, living, breathing masterpiece of connection.

Eureka Springs = Love

That’s not a slogan. That’s a cosmic fact. You can feel it in the air, and not just when pollen is high. You see it when Curtis kisses Larry in front of Jesus. You feel it when someone paints a rainbow flag on their porch, or when singer Kenny Ray stops his show to compliment your dog’s outfit. (Yes, your dog’s outfit.)

Eureka is synonymous with love.

It’s not just open-minded here — it’s open-hearted.

On May 10, 2014, Eureka Springs became the first city in Arkansas to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Then, in 2015, they passed a Non-Discrimination Ordinance like it was the most natural thing in the world, because here, it was. Not a big fuss, just a necessary thread in the town’s quilt of love.

This is Us.

We are a town of misfits, mystics, motorcyclists, muralists, ministers, magicians, and maybe one or two vampires (no proof, but I have suspicions). We are exactly what you think we are — and nothing like it at all.

One of the things you will hear most around town, is that people fall in love with Eureka because people fall in love with the people of Eureka. The Eurekans. The locals here are truly one of a kind.

We are Sunday gospel and Saturday burlesque. We are tie-dye and tweed. We are barefoot on the sidewalk and ballroom shoes on a Tuesday.

We are Eureka Springs. And somehow, gloriously, we are all in this together.

This is why, in creating this local blog about this wonderful place, I decided on www.iloveureka.com. Who wouldn't want to call a place like this home when it welcomes everyone with open arms. So, yes, this blog is called www.iloveureka.com.

And no, it’s not just because I like the way it sounds. It’s because loving Eureka is inevitable. Unavoidable. Like catching a cold at a toddler’s birthday party. Only this time, the fever feels like joy.

Come visit. Or better yet, stay. Bring a patch. Thread a stitch. Add your story to our quilt. You’ll be welcome here. Whoever you are.

The beautiful people of Eureka have always been integral in the evolution of Eureka Springs ... and this continues today. We are Eureka Springs!❤️